Ms. Jewel has written a wonderfully emotional story. The characters are interesting and engaging. Their pasts have formed them as they are in this book. The story is packed with adventure and danger. Over every other emotion, the reader will experience the depth of the love between Edward and Sabine. This is one of the best books I've read all year. I would highly recommend it to others.
Leanne Davis -- Fresh Fiction

Even Naughtier Nuptials - buy here!

Even Naughtier Nuptials
By: Anh Leod, Anna J. Evans, Brynn Paulin, Eve Vaughn, Heather Holland, Margaret L. Carter, Marianne LaCroix

Line: Anthology
Series: None
Book Length: 350 pages
Book Type: Trade Paperback

Publisher: Ellora's Cave Publishing

ISBN: 9781419959226
In Stock: YES
Regular Price: $16.99
On Sale For: $13.00

 
Wedding Jitters by Brynn Paulin
Dara is a fairy and she doesn't like it. But what's a girl to do when she's the fifth daughter of the fifth generation? The fifth daughter is always a fairy. Dara uses magic to hide her nature while she lives as a human but one thing is sure to blow her cover.

Sex - hot, out-of-control sex.

On the eve of her wedding to the most boring human she could find, another man, the Prince of Fairy, arrives intent on two things - making Dara reveal her wings and claiming her as his very own - by whatever means necessary.
 
Bridesmaid and the Beast by Marianne LaCroix
Bridesmaid and the Beast is a companion story to Beast in My Bed.

It's been eight blissful months since I, Sophia Monroe, Luckiest Woman in the World, found Greg, my British hunk of burning love, who also happens to be a complete animal in bed. But just when I thought life couldn't be sweeter, both of us were tapped to be in a coworker's wedding, which got me thinking - why hasn't Greg mentioned the M word?

So now, in the middle of surviving a bridal "storm", dealing with a drunken bride and trying to live down the sorbet-colored Bridesmaid Dress from Hell, I've become obsessed with wondering what I was - or wasn't - doing that made Greg altar-shy.

I'm trying to be patient...really! But at thirty-two, I'm just not satisfied with "boyfriend" anymore. If I have anything to say about it, Greg will be popping more than champagne corks before this wedding is through.
 
Seducing the Enemy by Anna J.Evans
Ancient prophecy says an Artuan first daughter will sit at the left hand of the king, but be as his right...

Astrid of the Artuan tribe will liberate her people from exile on the harsh jungle planet of Tiber...even if it means kidnapping a prince. Prince Jorunn's father ordered all the males of her clan killed fifteen years ago to secure his throne. Forcing the prince to perform the handfasting ceremony that will make her his queen seems a small sin in comparison.

Prince Jorunn can't believe the woman he mistook for a prostitute dared to drug him and take him back to her tribe for a marriage ceremony. The only thing more unbelievable is that a part of him - the part addled by the drug she slipped him, no doubt - doesn't think wedding this fierce and beautiful, kind and wanton woman would be such a bad idea.
 
Tentacles of Love by Margaret L. Carter
Lauren wonders why her fiancé Blake won't undress completely in front of her or consummate their sex play. Does his reticence have something to do with his family's eccentric customs and pagan rituals?

Before the wedding, when Blake takes Lauren to visit the family beach house where he plans for the two of them to spend their honeymoon, her questions are answered. First, he introduces her to his twin brother, who lives in a boarded-up attic room...for a very good reason. Then Blake finally takes his shorts off and their lovemaking expands to a whole new dimension.
 
Lucky Number Seven by Anh Leod
Meet the hottest werewolf in town.

When Vi Lane's cheating fiancé cancels their wedding only the day before the big event, she decides she's never going to trust a man again. But that doesn't mean she's willing to give up sex! In fact, she promises herself she'll experiment with the next man she sees. When she has a flat tire a few hours later, she's thrilled to see Cere come to her rescue. Little does she know his werewolf pack, Brotherhood of the Dog, has declared her to be Cere's true mate.

Can she learn to trust again, especially with a man who is hiding his true identity from the world? Will Cere himself be satisfied with a human mate? The Brotherhood is waiting for their answer.
 
This Side of Desperate by Heather Holland
Marissa is an angel from the top of her veiled head to the tips of her dainty feet, and Stone wants her with every fiber of his being. She appeals to everything within him, including his dark beast, and when she climbs out the window into his waiting arms, the wolf throws back his head and howls in excitement.

This woman is hot to the touch and liquid fire in his arms. When she claws his back and screams his name, he knows she's the one for him. However, things aren't as simple as they may seem. When danger finds them, Stone must do whatever it takes to keep his runaway bride safe.
 
Wedding Stud by Eve Vaughn
Desperate for a date to her cousin's wedding, Penny Marsh resorts to contacting an escort service. Little does she know, Studs for Hire is no ordinary escort service, but a cover for a mate-finding business for lonely immortals.

Nicholas has spent centuries searching for his true mate, and finally finds her in a lovely date for the night. He falls for the shy beauty right away, but how will she react when she learns the truth about Studs for Hire? And that he's a vampire.

Susan Grant here. One of the guys I fly with has a son who is a young Marine lieutenant embedded with his platoon in Afghanistan. I was appalled to hear how primitive their living conditions are, showering outside shivering in “solar showers,” running out of hot coffee on cold nights, and out of books and DVDs to keep their minds entertained when they aren’t out there being shot at. I also learned they’re given a “list of supplies” to BUY and bring with when they are deployed (to ease the US Gov’t bill, I suppose, but come on, many of these guys have young families and no $ to spare for their own personal comforts. They are also tough and would NEVER complain or ask for such things. So, I want to do it for them :).) Would you help make the harsh winter months a little brighter for these Marines?

Below is some info for those interested in sending a box of "home" to these guys in Afghanistan. My pilot friend told me that the US Post Office has pre-paid boxes that you can cram in as much as will fit. I plan to hit Target later and start stuffing. One note--if you are interested in sending any bags of Starbucks coffee--a huge hit in this platoon, apparently :)--please have it ground first.

Any food packaged for room temperature salmon, tuna, chicken, etc. They like to give candy to the children: suckers, smarties, anything they can carry in their pockets. They could also use anything to make the chickens they purchase from the villagers taste better, like spice packets, shake and bake type coating, hot sauce (in some bubble wrapping I think to keep it from shattering). Jerky, handi-wipes, peanut butter (I’m thinking those big plastic jars), cookies, Christmas candy like fudge etc. (You know they’d gobble up anything homemade!). And a special request from the guys: If there are any DVDs at home you no longer watch much, they’d appreciate those, too. Magazines (cool “guy mags” especially, old or new, and also paperback books. (romances, too, I would think!)

Ask others you know if you like. We simply can’t give too much! Everything sent to Daniel will be community property amongst his 40+ Marines. There are also several more platoons of 40+ marines each in the area...so overflow will go to them.

Thanks for showing kindness to these guys--they are combat marines in direct, hostile confrontation with Taliban--they’ll appreciate even the smallest gesture!

1st Lt Daniel Redmon

2/2 G Co

Unit 73080

FPO AE 09510-3080

(US Postal Service flat rate boxes are around $11 to send to this address)

Thank you so much!!!!!!

Susan Grant, veteran, USAF, www.susangrant.com

He’d helped them all survive for nothing, all his hard work and they were doomed. Without the younger generations of his race they were all going to die no matter what kind of snakes they shifted into; they were all going to be extinct. “Carmen, she wasn’t on your list, did you find her?” He asked gravely fearing the answer. The spunky, light fingered little girl had been like a daughter to him for almost a year. With the loss of so many pressing down on them he couldn’t afford to have her name added to the fray.

“I found her,” Aiden smiled his relieved face mirroring Merrick’s. “Apparently she’s in New York with the nest there. She got married, to Reece Evans, here in Vegas I’m told… and I believe they just had twins.”

“Little Reece?” He smirked knowing full well what type of untamable man Reece claimed to be and just how quickly his little viper would have whipped him into shape. “Guess the kid grew up then.”

“That kid’s older than me Mer. It isn’t just you that’s getting older.” Aiden shrugged nonchalantly stepping towards the huge window his eyes searching out. “At least it’s working out for some.”

“Just not enough.” Merrick sighed letting the seriousness of their situation sink back in.

Snake shifters were the rarest of all the shifting races. The cats thrived in the jungles and Asia, where as the wolves rampaged through Europe. The snakes, however, were dying. All of their ground has long since been reclaimed by humans. Humans who, by nature, feared them and hunt them. It was easy for a cat or a wolf to leap away or attack to defend themselves but most snakes were defenseless.

Those of their kind who’d carried the venom to defend themselves, like Carmen, were rare indeed and were feared by both sides of the coin. Now there was a new threat, something real stealing the females of his race, the unprotected ones. Most Ophidians lived in nests, their form of a pack or pride, and the nests were almost always run by the women. The women made the decisions in their society, the women passed on the bloodline. It was almost unheard of for a male to father an Ophidian child on his own with a human.

“Call everyone home, everyone that you can.” He opened his eyes, taking a deep breath before saying his next words. “We have to call a meeting, everyone must know.” He marveled at just how odd the words sounded. Meetings just weren’t called. The nest leaders didn’t just convene to discuss things. Most of the nests were at war over stupid insignificant territory disputes.

Aiden sputtered. “You’re kidding. We can’t call a meeting Mer we aren’t even a nest… not a proper one.”

It was true that the Vegas nest wasn’t a completely above board, sanctioned entity. Merrick had started it on his travels saving and picking up strays here and there. He gave them a home, and a relatively safe place to change and hunt. Staying wasn’t compulsory though and that’s why they had lost so many. His people had freedom to move wherever they wished. The official nests would call them all rogues. As nests go they probably had the most members and most of them owed their life to Merrick. Even Aiden. Merrick had rescued him and his sister Kira from a circus several years ago; they’d been his first and most loyal members.

“I’ve thought of that. We’ll declare ourselves. Most of them know we’ve started something in Vegas anyway.” He hoped they did anyway. He had let word leak out about their dealings in town, but nothing solid. It was all speculation, but it had kept them safe so far.

“They wont give us territory, especially not here. It’s prime land and it belongs to the King snakes…” He paused looking him over, “Plus Mer, you’re hardly the matriarch type.”

“I’ve thought of that as well. We don’t have to use me at the start. A woman claiming land would be seen as acceptable. We’ll use Kira as a front, she’s tough enough… with a little refining it will work.”

His friend let out a strangled moan somewhere between a yelp of surprise and groan of defeat. He’d been expecting this. “My sister can hardly…”

“Do you doubt me?” Merrick asked making his tone sharp. The other nests had cause to doubt him and his actions but if his own people doubted that he could lead them then it was already over.

For a moment he thought Aiden was going to argue but he shook his head. “No sir, I’m just worried about Kira Mer. Your making her call a meeting and declare land… it’s a bit much for her. Can’t you use…”

“Use who? They’re all gone…” Mer cut him off using simple facts. “Out of a possible fifty three we have twenty two that we can contact. They’re all gone, every one of them and I want to know where the hell they are. Think about it, if we’re losing people the other nests are bound to be too. We have to deal with this threat at all costs and if that means that you sister has to hold it together for five or so days then so be it. I’d love to use someone else, but there just isn’t anyone left that I trust.”

Aiden swallowed hard. “It’s gonna be a long con Mer. My sister ain’t the best puppet around but if anyone can pull it off its you.”

“Thanks for your vote of confidence. Now call the damn meeting.”

Merrick turned his back to Aiden hoping to God that the boy didn’t pick up on the fine tremble that had started to run through his body. The truth was Merrick was scared. Something or someone was taking his people and he couldn’t do a damn thing about it, not the way things were. They were all disjointed, no communication. He had the fleeting thought that they wouldn’t be in this predicament if they all just kept in touch. Things were about to get dangerous and not just from the unknown side of things. His presence was going to be a surprise to most of the nest leaders as the majority of them thought he was dead. A rumor he’d always done his best to cultivate. John Merrick wasn’t a name that most snake nests thought upon lightly and now here he was trying to solve a mystery and claim his own land. Even if it was through poor Kira. The shit was about to well and truly hit the fan, the trick now was to spread as much of it about as he could while hopefully, finding his missing girls and with any luck they’d even be alive. He smirked shaking his head, never let it be said that he didn’t have high expectations.

***

Elise Rizdon frowned down at the paper she held, completely confused. All the seals, stamps and watermarks were in place, yet the sender, Kira Whitbley, the woman claming to be the Archon of the Las Vegas nest, wasn’t known to her. In fact, the news that there was a Vegas nest completely escaped her attention till now. She leaned back and sighed, perplexed.

The King snakes held Vegas in their territory, as well as most of the western desert, California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. That Olivia Copeland, the Archon of the king snake crèche, would allow such a thing was unheard of. Territory was coveted, and to just allow another nest to appear in the area they called theirs… the King Snakes were not the most peace loving of the nests and if Olivia didn’t know that a nest had sprang up right under her nose things were going to get messy.

Still, the officious nature of the correspondence she was holding lead her to believe that Kira was indeed an Archon in practice if not officially, and there was cause for this meeting. The way it was addressed, to the Archon’s of the five nests, said that the issues that needed to be addressed concerned them all. She sighed and turned towards her desk, and hit the little panel to the right of her computer, the buttons to the intercom system of the Knossos West compound.

“Myra? Could you come to my suite please?” She said in her light voice, her southern accent peeking out.

Myra stuck her head through her door a few seconds later out of breath at having ran up the stairs. "Elise?"

She smiled at the young woman and motioned her in. "Come in Darlin... we seem to have a situation."

"We do?" she asked coming into the room, he soft honey colored hair bouncing as she moved. "What's happened?"

She placed the parchment on the desk just as Myra reached it. "We have to go to Ohio. A meeting has been called."

"A meeting?" She frowned looking at the papers. "Why?"

"It doesn’t say, but if someone calls a meeting they have a damn good reason, or should. I’m sure its not to play tidily winks."

"I'd bet not..." She said lifting the papers and studying them. "Wow. Another nest? In Vegas? That’s not going to go down well at all."

"No its not, Olivia is not going to be happy, nor is Ramona. She’s still stewing about the last meeting when we voted her daughter's motion to start her own crèche in Maine down."

"It's going to be interesting that’s for sure. Who are you taking with you? It might get dangerous..."

Elise smiled. Who indeed. Usually she would be taking Remy or Reece with her for such an occasion, but as they were both recently mated and each had a clutch, children, of their own, that was out of the question. Phillip and Andy were both mated and neither of them had the presence to warrant bodyguard status. That left Myra and Henry, and Henry was away at the house in the Hampton’s. "Well... You’re the logical choice... and the only choice, though to be fair, if I had to choose between you and Henry, it would always be you. He’s far too soft."

"Yeah that I get picked over him always a good tell on that. I don’t know how much use I'll be though and you'll have to battle it out with Reece and Remy. They wont like it at all."

"Well they are both fathers now, and frankly I don’t give a shit. My word is gospel in this house. I’m worried though, this new nest on the scene and now a meeting. If this is about land disputes..." she trailed off and sighed. Usually the meetings were about land disputes, and border boundaries. Elise, as Archon of the New York nest, held New Hampshire to Maryland and west to Ohio as her Territory. Ramona, leader of the Midwest nest held everything west of the Mississippi to the Rockies and north to Canada, as well as south to Oklahoma. Geraldine, Elise's cousin, ran the southern territory while Olivia ran the pacific southwest, and Marcus, the only Male Archon, ran the Pacific northwest out of Portland. There were several free zone areas, such as Maine, Louisiana, Nebraska, Ohio and Montana, but they were neutral zones for the odd occasional meeting and gathering. This meeting would be held in Ohio, at the Orpheus Ranch, the only neutral holding in the east. That a newly appointed Archon was asking for the East didn’t speak well for her position in the West.

"Land disputes? If there really is a new nest forming then that'll be exactly what it's about. Things could get pretty rough..."

"True, like I said, Olivia isn’t going to give up Vegas. Strange though, Carmen, Chrissy Reece and Remy were there’s not a year ago and they never mentioned any snakes in the vicinity, aside from Marco, Olivia's Defteros. He had met them at the hotel to convey Olivia's joy at the pairings, remember? When she actually visited Andy to offer up the females of her compound? Olivia might be a hard ass, but she dose know when things are working in Ophidian’s favor." A Defteros was a snake in the nest that was equivalent to a pack’s Beta, only with the Ophidians, it meant that you were second only to the Archon, their bodyguard, and more often then not, their mate. Elise, still unattached, considered all of her live in nest Defteros, as she didn’t have a choice. As an unmated Archon she didn’t have many options in it, unless she mated, and that was something she wouldn’t do.

"True... so you don’t think there is a nest? It could be a front. Maybe somebody’s trying something... getting you all in one place?"

"Possibly, but these are official seals, and they knew the information about the Orpheus. Only elders and Archon's know where it actually is."

"So maybe its one of the others..."

"It might be, but what is the use of a ruse?"

"I don't know..." She admitted with a sigh shaking her head.

"It doesn’t matter, it says it’s of grave importance, and we will uphold the laws and appear, as will all the Archon's. Then we will get to the bottom of this. I would ask that you go armed in your usual fashion."

"Of course Archon... When do you want to leave?"

"Within the hour. I’ll speak with Remy and Reece, leave them as Diarkos incase something actually is up. I would rather them here protecting the family. Pack, see to transportation to Ohio, I believe Dustin is still at the airfield."

Myra nodded. "I'll call him and ask him to meet us there."

"Wonderful Darlin." she said and stood. She walked over to Myra and smiled. The woman was beautiful, sexy and a brilliant painter, but she was still an enforcer of their nest and she would fulfill that obligation in spades, as she always did. "Myra, don’t worry, whatever it is, we can handle it. You know I’m not some flouncy Archon like Ramona, that skeleton in a Jackie O hairdo. We will be Ok."

"Oh I know that," She grinned, "I just wish our lives weren’t interrupted over something stupid like land dispute."

"Agreed. But look on the bright side, we could be going to the Montana compound." she shuddered.

"Thank god..." She rolled her eyes.

and the book:

Love Finds You In Lonesome Prairie, Montana

Summerside Press (December 1, 2009)

Oh, you thought I was going to name a favorite author, didn’t you? That will never happen. LOL My reading tastes are just as eclectic as my musical tastes. I like everything from young adult to Stephen King at his goriest so to name a single favorite author is not possible. And I imagine most of you would agree to that. Unless you’re a fan of Stephenie Meyer, in which case you’re not reading this blog. You’re in line to see New Moon, again, somewhere right now. LOL

I digress.

While I do have a lot of favorite authors, what grabs MY attention? Author sites.

If the site loads fast, the author’s latest book is out there on the front page for me to drool over, navigation is easy enough for me to understand at 1 AM when I actually have time to surf the net and am half asleep. If I find a book I like and the site has it going on, and I’m hooked. I’m clicking through to buy that book. Why? Because aside from getting a good story, I know I can count on that author to make it super easy for me to buy it. The less I have to click, the better I like it.

Want to bet on how many readers out there are just like me?

A good site grabs my attention more than 200 Yahoo promo posts, the author’s rant about toothpaste on Twitter, or that invitation to Farmville on Facebook (and you WON’T get me to play that, sorry! LOL) I don’t have time to do the contest thing, the chat thing, or to follow blogs. A good site is there, up-to-date, and constant. Ready whenever I am. Now we’re talking. =)

What will turn me away at an author site? 1) not being able to find what I want in 5 seconds (television and the internet have given us all ADD, let’s be honest), 2) not being able to get in the site because the flash promo is stuck or didn’t load properly, or 3) finding the site hasn’t been updated since April.

Ever feel like that?

So, fellow readers, I pose this question: What can an author do to grab YOUR attention? Do you read the promo posts on the Yahoo and MSN loops? Do you like contests? Do you love the blog circuit? Getting email announcements from authors?

What do you like?

I’ve got print books to give away readers. =) I’ll do some author prizes too. But talk to me.

Thanks to Ryshia for letting me play on her blog.

Tina

The Romance Studio ~ the romance genre today.

http://theromancestudio.com

It's almost the weekend here in New Zealand and I thought I'd celebrate by chilling out to one of the most gorgeous songs ever written.

Not much else to report. I'm blogging over at Teen Fiction Cafe and my second djinn book is finally starting to take shape. What's everyone else been up to??

The background

The Problem

The Harm

Analogies Galore!

Selling Books vs. Selling your Writing

Is Harlequin Deceiving Writers?

Why authors are so upset and you should be too

Some more truths.

So tell me something that makes you smile. Let's make the world a nicer place (because, right now, it doesn't feel like one).

and the book:

The Swiss Courier

Revell (October 1, 2009)